Hen Health. 55 



ing, I feed mostly corn and other fattening foods. Hens thin 

 in flesh will moult late sure. I should suppose that moulting 

 is harder on the small birds, because they don't have flesh 

 enough to hurry the process along." 



J. H. Drevenstedt says: "My system of handling fowls 

 while moulting is based on the principle that no healthy ani- 

 mals need tonics or stimulants while growing. I discarded 

 the medicine-chest years ago, and neither personally use, nor 

 give to any animals drugs of any kind, excepting when actual 

 sickness may call for a simple remedy. Fowls that are moulting 

 are perfectly healthy, and why they should need Douglass Mix- 

 ture, red pepper, and other stimulants is hard to tell. A hen that 

 has been forced for laying needs rest if she is to moult quickly. 

 Growing feathers and producing eggs at the same time are not 

 calculated to hasten moulting. I turn out my hens to roam 

 over the pastures and in the orchards, feeding them oats or 

 wheat once a day, but feeding the grain rather sparingly. 

 With Leghorns, Games and Spanish, moulting is severer than 

 with our hardier breeds, and for such a farm range is almost 

 indispensable. Leghorns are apt to lay well into their moult- 

 ing period, but the above treatment will help them through 

 the critical time. The age of a hen influences her moulting 

 greatly. Old hens usually moult later in the season, although 

 feeding and handling will hasten the process, but three months 

 is the average time required for the moult." 



